Nehemiah 9

Nehemiah 9Expanded Bible (EXB)

The People’s Prayer

Israel Confesses Sins

9 On the twenty-fourth day of that same month [October 31], the people of Israel ·gathered [assembled]. They fasted, and they wore ·rough cloth [sackcloth] and put dust on their heads [C signs of grief or repentance]. 2 ·Those people whose ancestors were from Israel [L The seed of Israel] had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins and their ancestors’ ·sins [iniquities]. 3 For a fourth of the day [C three hours] they stood where they were and read from the ·Book [scroll] of the ·Teachings [Laws; Instructions; L Torah] of the Lord their God. For another fourth of the day they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. 4 These Levites were standing on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. 5 Then these Levites spoke: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who lives ·forever and ever [from age to age/everlasting to everlasting].”

“Blessed be your ·wonderful [glorious] name.·It is more wonderful than [May it be exalted above] all blessing and praise.6 You ·are the only [alone are the]Lord.You made the ·heavens [sky], even the ·highest [L heavens of the] heavens,with all ·the stars [L their hosts].You made the earth and everything on it,the seas and everything in them;you give life to everything.The heavenly ·army [host] worships you.

7 “You are the ·Lord,the God [orLord God,] who chose Abramand brought him ·out of [forth from] Ur ·in Babylonia [L of the Chaldeans; Gen. 12:1–3]and named [C renamed] him Abraham [Gen. 17:5].8 You found ·him [L his heart] faithful to you,so you made an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] with himto give his ·descendants [L seed] the land of the Canaanites,Hittites, Amorites,Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites.You have ·kept [fulfilled] your ·promise [word],because you ·do what is right [are righteous].

9 “You saw our ·ancestors [fathers] ·suffering [miserable; afflicted; in distress] in Egyptand heard them cry out ·at [beside] the ·Red Sea [L Sea of Reeds; Ex. 14–15].10 You ·did [performed; displayed] signs and ·miracles [wonders] against ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh],and against all his ·officers [officials; servants] and all the people of his land,because you knew how ·proud [arrogant; insolent] they were to them [C Israel’s ancestors].You ·became as famous [L made a name for yourself] ·as you are today [which remains to this day].11 You ·divided [split; opened] the sea in front of ·our ancestors [L them];they ·walked [passed] through the sea on dry ground [Ex. 14–15].But you threw ·the people chasing them into the deep water [their pursuers into the depths],like a stone thrown into ·mighty [raging; surging] waters.12 You ·led [guided] ·our ancestors [L them] with a ·pillar [column] of cloud by dayand with a ·pillar [column] of fire at night [Ex. 13:21].It lit the waythey were supposed to go.13 You came down ·to [on; at] Mount Sinaiand spoke from heaven to ·our ancestors [L them].You gave them ·fair [just] ·rules [judgments] and true ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah],good ·orders [statutes; ordinances; requirements] and commands.14 You ·told [revealed; made known to] them about your holy Sabbath [Ex. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15]and gave them commands, ·orders [statutes; ordinances; requirements], and ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah]through your servant Moses.15 When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven [C the manna; Ex. 16:31].When they were thirsty, you brought them water from ·the [a] rock [Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–13].You told them to enter and ·take over [possess]the land you had ·promised [sworn; L raised your hand] to give them.

16 “But ·our ancestors [L they, our fathers,] were ·proud [arrogant; insolent] and ·stubborn [rebellious; L stiff-necked]and did not ·obey [listen/pay attention to] your commands.17 They refused to ·listen [obey];they ·forgot [L did not remember/recall] the ·miracles [wonders] you ·did [performed] ·for [among] them.So they became ·stubborn [rebellious; L stiff-necked],·choosing [appointing] a leader to take them back to slavery in Egypt.[a]But you are a forgiving God.You are ·kind [gracious] and ·full of mercy [compassionate].You ·do not become angry quickly [T are slow to anger], and ·you have great [abounding in unfailing/steadfast] love [compare Ex. 34:6; Num. 14:18; Ps. 86:15, 145:8; Joel 2:13]So you did not ·leave [abandon; desert; forsake] them.18 ·Our ancestors [L They] even ·made [cast] a calf [C as an idol] for themselves.They said, ‘This is your godwho brought you up out of Egypt [Ex. 32].’They ·spoke against you [L committed great blasphemies].

19 “You have great ·mercy [compassion],so you did not ·leave [abandon; desert; forsake] them in the ·desert [wilderness].The pillar of cloud ·guided them by day [L did not turn from them by day in guiding them in the path],·and the pillar of fire led them at night,lighting the way they were to go [nor did the pillar of fire stop illuminating for them by night the path on which they should travel].20 You ·gave [sent; imparted] your good Spirit to ·teach [instruct] them.You ·gave them manna to eat [L did not withhold manna from their mouth]and gave them water when they were thirsty.21 You ·took care of [sustained; provided for] them for forty years in the ·desert [wilderness];they ·needed [lacked] nothing.Their clothes did not wear out,and their feet did not swell.

22 “You gave them kingdoms and ·nations [peoples; C to conquer];you ·gave them more land [put them in every corner; L allotted/allocated to them every corner/frontier].They ·took over [took possession of; inherited] the country of Sihon king of Heshbonand the country of Og king of Bashan [Num. 21:21–33].23 You made their ·children [descendants; sons] as ·many [numerous] as the stars ·in the sky [of heaven; Gen. 15:5; 22:17; 26:4],and you brought them into the landthat you told their ·ancestors [fathers] to enter and ·take over [possess].24 So their ·children [descendants; sons] went into the land and took ·over [possession].The Canaanites lived there, but you ·defeated them for [subdued them before] our ancestors.You handed over to them the Canaanites, their kings, and the ·people [peoples] of the land.·Our ancestors [L They] could ·do what they wanted with them [deal with them as they pleased].25 They captured ·strong, walled [fortified] cities and fertile land.They took over houses full of good things,·wells [cisterns] that were already dug,vineyards, olive ·trees [groves], and ·many [abundant] fruit trees.They ate until they were full and grew fat;they ·enjoyed [reveled; delighted themselves in] your great goodness.

26 “But they were disobedient and ·turned [rebelled] against youand ·ignored [turned their backs on] your ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah].Your prophets ·warned [admonished] them to come back to you,but they killed those prophetsand ·spoke against you [L committed great blasphemies].27 So you handed them over to their ·enemies [oppressors],and their ·enemies treated them badly [oppressors oppressed them].But in this time of ·trouble [distress; suffering; misery] ·our ancestors [L they] cried out to you,and you heard from heaven.You had great ·mercy [compassion]and gave them ·saviors [liberators; T deliverers] who ·saved [rescued] them from the ·power [hand] of their ·enemies [oppressors].28 But as soon as they had ·rest [peace],they again ·did what was [committed] evil.So you ·left [abandoned; deserted; forsook] them to [L the hand of] their ·enemies [oppressors]who ·ruled over [conquered; oppressed] them.When they cried out to you again,you heard from heaven.Because of your ·mercy [compassion], you ·saved them again [rescued them time] and again.29 You ·warned [admonished] them to return to your ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah],but they were ·proud [arrogant; insolent] and did not ·obey [listen to] your commands.If someone ·obeys [observes] your ·laws [judgments], he will live,but they sinned against ·your laws [L them].They ·were stubborn [L turned a stubborn shoulder], ·unwilling [rebellious; L stiff-necked], and ·disobedient [rebellious].30 You ·were patient [T bore] with them for many yearsand ·warned [admonished] them by your Spirit through ·the [your] prophets,but they did not ·pay attention [L give ear].So you handed them over to ·other countries [L the peoples of the lands].31 But because your ·mercy [compassion] is great, you did not ·kill [destroy; L make an end of] them all or ·leave [abandon; desert; forsake] them.You are a ·kind [gracious] and ·merciful [compassionate] God.

32 “And so, our God, you are the great and ·mighty [powerful] and ·wonderful [awesome] God.You keep your ·agreement [covenant/treaty] of ·love [faithful/steadfast/unfailing love; lovingkindness].Do not let all our ·trouble [hardship] seem ·unimportant [inconsequential; L small] ·to you [L in your sight].This trouble has come to us, to our kings and our ·leaders [officials],to our priests and prophets,to our ·ancestors [fathers] and all your peoplefrom the days of the kings of Assyria ·until today [to this very day].33 You have been ·fair [just; righteous] in everything that has happened to us;you have ·been loyal [been faithful; L done truth], but we have ·been wicked [acted wickedly/wrongly].34 Our kings, ·leaders [officials], priests, and ·ancestors [fathers] did not obey your ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah];they did not pay attention to the commands and ·warnings [decrees; testimonies] you gave them.35 Even when ·our ancestors [L they] were living in their kingdom,·enjoying [benefiting from] all the good things you ·had given [lavished/bestowed on] them,·enjoying [benefiting from] the land that was ·fertile and full of room [rich and spacious],they did not ·stop [serve you and turn from] their evil ·ways [deeds; practices].

36 “·Look [T Behold], we are slaves todayin the land you gave our ·ancestors [fathers].·They were to enjoy [L …to eat] its fruit and its good things,but ·look [T behold], we are slaves here.37 The land’s ·great [abundant] ·harvest [produce] belongs to the kings you have ·put [set; placed] over usbecause of our sins.Those kings rule over ·us [L our bodies] and our cattle as they please,so we are in ·much trouble [great distress/misery].

The People’s Covenant

38 “Because of all this, we are making an ·agreement [covenant; treaty] in writing, and our ·leaders [officials], Levites, and priests are putting their seals on it.”

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